MY ORPHAN BRIDE

WHY IS LIFE SO HARD?

ALICE



“Alice! Fetch me the bundle of stick files from the store-room. And don't forget to arrange these books according to subjects and standards after that.” I heard Uncle Amos shouting from the other end of the shop. We are in a rush. Well...well, the rush hour never ends in the life of a stationery salesgirl.

"I heard you, Uncle. I will be there in a minute." I replied as I took careful steps down the ladder. I am not very tall. Thus I need to use the iron ladder to reach the top shelf while cleaning.

'Okay! Try to be quick.' He howled once more.

It is the winter holidays. Everybody is enjoying their vacation with their families and here I am trying to make money to make ends meet. I work as a salesgirl in a book shop. It is right opposite the famous coaching institute in town. I don’t get much from this job, but if I cut all my unnecessary expenses I can still save some money for my studies.

Aside from this job, I work as a home tutor. I have morning and evening shifts which add to a little of my monthly income. However, my pay gets cut if I fall sick. That's the biggest hurdle. I can't fall ill. My life is hard to live. I envy my friends sometimes. They can sleep until mid-day and not work and still don't have to think about tomorrow. Whereas I have to save every penny so that I can have a full meal the next time. Electricity bills, house rent, school fees, lunch, dinner....Oh God!, the list never ends.

My exams are approaching too. I am going to graduate this coming month. "Sigh!" But that doesn't end my suffering. I am planning to study further.

.....

“Have you finished?”

‘Yes, Uncle Amos, I am almost done.’ Placing the last piece of book that I had in my hand, “An Introduction to Geography” for Class V, I replied back. Life is boring, but thinking of myself giving lectures in the hall, sets my heart on fire again. I am rejuvenated every time I think about my future as a lecturer.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Uncle Amos cuts my day dream with a snap of his finger. Whenever I am left on my own, I always transcend into that dreamy world. I didn't know when Uncle Amos got near me.

‘I will clean the floor now’, I said, nodding my head: almost feeling sorry for dreaming with my eyes open, again!

“This girl! Don't forget to have your lunch." I nodded again.

"Then come back and arrange these copies and notebooks neatly!"

'Yes sir!'

-----

I was so indulged in my work that I did not realize that it was already 2 P.M., meaning that there will be students soon and this small stationery will be overcrowded.Winter vacation is the longest holiday we have in our Richmond Hills. This is the vacation where wealthy people go out with their families. Aside from that, school-going students opt for tuition classes to pass their board exams. Some schools provide tuition facilities in their school itself and some students opt for private coaching institutes.

The concern here is that I have to hurry to clean the mess otherwise I will get an earful once Mrs. Smith arrives. She is the complete opposite of her husband, strict and bitter.

My work here begins at 8 in the morning till 4 in the evening. If Mrs. Smith is there in the shop, I have to be there within 8, no extension or whatever. But thanks to the Smith family, I am who I am today. I have been living alone for three years now. Before that, the Holy Maria Orphanage was my home. I visit our orphanage every now and then. Though the nuns there get transferred quickly, my attachment with the orphanage and the people out there is very strong. It is because of their selfless service that people like me can face society head on. Like all other orphans residing in the Holy Maria Orphanage, I am also an orphan. I might have left my old home for good now. Yet I can't deny the fact that I have no one to call family. Still, I consider myself fortunate to have found god in Mr and Mrs. Smith. They might not know how much this job means to me.

Today is Saturday and that reminds me that from 8-9 P.M. I have to visit the night school where my students, mostly older women, will be waiting for me. My works might not be equivalent to the service and sacrifice that the sisters of Holy Maria have done; but it feels rewarding to be able to help the fellow women of my society and bring hope to their lives. The smiles on their faces whenever I help them with attaining their education, kind of, brightens my heart. The students I have there are elderly, some in their forties and some even in their late sixties. Yet they have that passion in them to finish what they have started. People making fun of them for their dream of learning to read and write enrages me. However, seeing them smile through the toughest hardships that they face encourages me to be fearless too. It is for the sake of saying that I am their teacher. But in reality, I am learning a lot from them. I am learning about their ways of life in return for whatever less I teach them.

But all in all, I am satisfied with the kind of life I am living. Life is a learning process, and I am learning everything that my life is presenting before me. Sacrifice, the art of living, working hard and dreaming! I am blessed to have a harder life than the rest of my peers.